This invention relates to a sliver bundle guiding device installed in a fiber processing textile machine. The sliver bundle is formed of a plurality of running slivers, and the sliver guiding device includes a sliver guiding body having a sliver guiding surface on which the slivers are supported. The sliver guiding surface is linear in the sliver advancing direction and is arcuately bent as viewed transversely to such direction. A holding mechanism maintains the guiding body in its set position.
In a known device of the above-outlined type the guiding body is an arcuate, deformable component. For changing the width of the running sliver bundle (that is, the lateral spread of the individual slivers from one another), from each side pressure is exerted on the guiding body thereby changing its arcuate shape. It is a disadvantage of such an arrangement that the setting of a uniform (symmetrical) arcuate shape involves difficulties. In order to achieve a centrally symmetrical arcuate shape, on both sides of the guiding body very accurately identical pressures have to be simultaneously applied. In case of a non-symmetrical arcuate shape of the guiding body, the sliver bundle is introduced into the fiber processing machine in a non-uniform manner which (particularly at high operating speeds) leads to a non-uniform processing and thus to a quality loss in the product.
It is a further disadvantage of the known arrangements that the pressure-applying device on both sides of the guiding body involves substantial expense.